An assessment of local fisheries in Diego-Suarez Bay, Madagascar

Figure 11. Map of Diego-Suarez Bay, light grey shaded areas indicate popular fishing sites. Dark grey area
represents the urban conurbations of Diego Suarez
3.3.2 Fishing methods
Ramena
Larger scale fishing and more labour intensive methods were observed in this area of the bay.
Beach seine nets are commonly used. They are made up of a single-panel surround net consisting of a bag
in the middle to hold the catch, a shoulder section at each side and a wing section at each end. The top of
the net has a floated headline made of plastic buoys, polystyrene floats and plastic bottles and the bottom
is attached to a lightly weighted sole rope. Each wing end is connected to a hauling rope. The lengths of
the nets are approximately 200m. The mesh size varies from 1-3cm as the net is made up of many pieces
of different nets. Towards the back of the net and at the cod end the nets are made up of a net with a mesh
size as small as 1cm.
The nets are cast parallel to the shore using boats, approximately 100m from the beach. The number of
fishermen on the boat laying out the net, ranges from 6-10. The hauling ropes are brought ashore and the
nets are pulled into shore. Three to four men with snorkelling equipment are placed in the water around
the net, aggressively hitting the surface of the water to herd the fish into the net. This process lasts up to
an hour with as many as 18 people observed assisting. Once the catch is pulled in, it is dumped on to the
sand and then sorted into species and placed into plastic baskets and washed. The species caught were
identified as sprat (Spratelloides delicatulus), great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), sardines (species
unknown), sky emperor (Lethrinus mahsena), blackspot emperor (Letrhrinus harak), dusky rabbitfish
(Siganus fuscescens), half beaks (Hemiramphus far), cornetfish (Fistularia commersonii), white-spotted
puffer (Arothron hispidus), longhorn cowfish (Lactoria cornuta ), three-ribbon wrasse (Stethojulis
strigiventer).
No fish exceeding 30cm were caught in the net, but fish as small as 3cm were observed. Fish of all sizes
were kept and placed in the baskets. Some of the fish 3-5cm in length were left on the beach and not
collected. The fish discarded were the puffers, cowfish, cornetfish, and three ribbon wrasse as they were
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